Abby Mulligan

Trinidad Service Trip 2017

How would you define servant leadership?
A servant leader is driven by a need to help others thrive. Holding themselves and their people to the highest standards, they inspire others to accomplish great things through selflessness, persistence, respect and empathy. In knowing that service to others is the ultimate accomplishment, they excel at mentoring others and sharing their humanitarian purpose. Servant leadership is a quality that will continue to emerge and develop throughout a lifetime.
How many donuts are you capable of eating in one sitting?
At most in one sitting I could only eat 2 Krispy Kreme donuts. I am not a huge fan of donuts because they are too sweet. But, when Krispy Kreme donuts are hot and fresh, the first donut is the best, and the second is still good but there is just not more room for a 3rd cooling donut and I could not force any more than that. However, if this was something like cookies we were talking of, I could finish an endless amount.
If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role?
How fun would it be to have that one moment of fame, as a movie star? I would have to take a shot at playing myself, because who could possibly be a better me. If I had to make a choice, filling the role with an established movie star, I would have to choose Ashley Judd. I was introduced to Ashley Judd’s work through the Divergent movies, where she plays the independent and formidable mother of the main character. As I’ve learned more about her, off screen, I realize that she would tell my story with a genuine understanding. She and I have similar personalities and interests, so it is a role she would step in to easily. While having spent time studying abroad and bringing our passion for humanitarian works to a global level, we have both still managed to maintain our dedication to what is close to our hearts. We both value the time we spend enjoying our hobbies of cooking and experiencing the outdoors, supporting our alma mater, spending time with our loved ones and living and intelligent healthy lifestyle.
Have you ever started petting a really fluffy dog and gotten overwhelmed by how fluffy the dog is?
How could anyone not be overwhelmed by the feel of a super fluffy dog? Anyone who knows me would tell you that I am obsessed with texture. Anything soft is coming home with me, every time. So, it will come as no surprise when I say yes, I have often found myself overwhelmed by the fluffiness of a fluffy dog. And, honestly, there are few things that I enjoy more.

Jessica Miller

How would you define servant leadership?
I define servant leadership as the actions put into place when one has a genuine desire to provide an environment for people which allows them to be themselves and their best selves. Despite a potential position of more privilege or “superiority”, a servant leader provides opportunities for those around them to succeed and thrive. At times, this will include the well-being, needs, and desires of others being put before their own. One moment where I witnessed servant leadership being put into action was when I attended Muscular Dystrophy Association summer camp as a volunteer counselor. One camper was demonstrating very poor behavior which was disruptive to a group activity of tie-dying. While it may have been easiest to separate the child and punish her for acting inappropriately, her counselor took the approach of a servant leader recognizing that this camp was intended to provide the best experience possible for each and every camper. The counselor took the camper aside asking her exactly what it was that she would rather be doing. She was extremely patient listening to every word the camper had to say between frustrated sobs. After allowing her time to compose herself, the counselor was able to find an ideal solution to the situation for everyone involved. It turned out that the girl was simply upset and had her feelings hurt when she was unable to sit next to someone she considered her best friend. After a quick conversation and rearrangement of the room, each and every camper was back to tie-dying and enjoying the activity. While this seems simple, without the servant leader approach of allowing each camper to have the best experience possible and always feel comfortable, this situation may have resulted in one camper missing out on an entire activity and feeling left out and uncomfortable among her peers for the remainder of camp.
How many donuts are you capable of eating in one sitting?
As I first sat down to answer this question I realized I had to do more research. For this reason, I am currently leaving Dunkin’ Donuts feeling quite sick to my stomach after successfully (but not comfortably) consuming three donuts: one Boston cream, one jelly, and one chocolate glazed. I was proud of myself until my brother turned that pride into disappointment after he easily finished six then asked if we could pick up pizza on the way home.
If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role?
If Hollywood were to make a movie about my life, I would love to play the lead role myself. Although I greatly admire several actresses, I feel that no one knows me or understands my life better than I do. However, this would require the movie to be unscripted along the lines of a reality TV show because I have to admit my acting skills are quite subpar.
Have you ever started petting a really fluffy dog and gotten overwhelmed by how fluffy the dog is?
There are two ways in which I have felt overwhelmed when petting a very fluffy dog. The first is overwhelmed with joy. In my opinion the fluffier the dog, the more happiness brought to the person petting it. The second is overwhelmed with sadness. However, I’ve never felt sadness in regards to how fluffy the dog is but rather sadness over the fact that I can’t take it home and make it my own.

Anna Lovotti

How would you define servant leadership?
A servant leader is a unique kind of person–one who is dedicated, humble, and true. Servant leaders understand that the role of a true leader never comes with superiority. Instead, true servant leaders are bound to a lifelong responsibility of love and service to their community.

The servant leader strives to help all community members seek the best version of themselves, hoping to have them not only lift up themselves, but to lift up each other and the community as a whole–creating a network of leaders and innovators. A servant leader does not only work with the community but also within the community, striving to live, work, and grow, hand-in-hand with each of the people he or she has the privilege to interact with. A servant leader is someone who embodies hope–someone who has positivity and true selflessness–who ends each day having learned as much from the community as the community has learned from them. Servant leaders understand that their job is to promote an environment where community members work side-by-side with one another and that this is what will build a more connected, honest community that encourages those who live within it to work to the best of their individual abilities–and to always be the best, most selfless versions of themselves.

How many donuts are you capable of eating in one sitting?
When it comes to me and donuts, we have a true love-hate relationship. I’m a very determined person and if given a large number of donuts, I could probably finish them all (given I’d have a nice tummy-ache after). However, the number I would eat really depends on the selection of donuts, and it also depends on the donut-eating situation. For example, eating donuts from a box set out in the break room at work that includes a wide array of flavors would yield a very different outcome than eating donuts from a box set down in front of me at a donut-eating competition where all the donuts are the old-fashioned kind. Not that old-fashioned donuts are bad; they’re just… dry.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s say it’s the break room scenario. If I were to stumble upon a few dozen break-room-donuts, I would first scout out my options. I’ve been known to play the “halvsies” game, where I cut several in half and have multiple halves in order to try as many as possible while still remaining fair, and without filling up too quickly. After all, if I hit tummy-ache too fast, I won’t have it in me to try more later.

Also, I personally owe the creator of donuts a huge thank you. After all, they convinced the world that donuts are acceptable to enjoy as a breakfast item even though we all know they’re a delectable dessert. My tummy might have a few choice words for the creator of donuts, but if you ever need any recommendations for where the good ones are nowadays, Mrs. Murphy’s in Southwick is the way to go for donuts that even I wouldn’t dare to cut in half. Getting back to the number I could eat, well I think I will have to just go with… it depends.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role?
Although I would love to test out my own acting skills (or lack thereof), in a Hollywood film, I think I’ll save the world the torture. When I first looked at this question I had no idea, having never even considered being interesting enough to make a movie about, so I guiltily looked to the wisdom of the Internet and found a personality quiz that asked “Who Would Play You In The Movie About Your Life?”

Yes, it was the Buzzfeed one.

As the Internet would have it, Kate Winslet would play me. The quiz site explained that Winslet would do justice with my witty sense of humor, warm nature, courageous heart, and love of adventures. Given that description, I believe the internet was spot on and I would like to nominate Kate to do the honors of playing me in a movie about my very comical and interesting life…

…but we all know these Internet quizzes will compliment you no matter what you answer, so who knows; maybe I could take a stab at it.

Have you ever started petting a really fluffy dog and gotten overwhelmed by how fluffy the dog is?
After being asked this question, I have now realized that I’ve had a devastating shortage of fluffy dogs in my life, because I can’t think of a single one. Plenty of short-hairs, but no fluffies. I will have to add fluffy-dog-petting to my resolution for the New Year. I was, however, extremely overwhelmed this past summer when a really small puppy decided to tag along with us during my family vacation on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico.

Vieques has tons of stray dogs, and I ended up falling in love with at least five while we were there, and had to be talked out of taking one home by my father multiple times. This particular puppy, though, definitely took the cake and stole my heart. Each night we would walk to the small town of Esperanza, and, at some point along the way, this puppy would come out of the bushes and walk the rest of the way with us, even joining us for dinner at whatever open air restaurant we chose. If you went to pick him up and give him a cuddle, he would immediately flip on his back and demand a tummy rub instead, which always made my heart melt. He knew what he wanted. My whole family was enraptured by his cuteness, and we called him Puppa-doo. It was a very hard goodbye at the end of our trip, as this puppy really won over all of our hearts not just mine, but on our last walk down to the main town with Puppa-doo at our heels, a few small boys gleefully called out a different name that the little puppy immediately responded to. They then told us that they had been missing the little guy for the past few days… whoops! All those table scraps might have had something to do with it. Leaving knowing he was loved and cared for really helped us all say goodbye.

Although he wasn’t the fluffiest, this small little pup constantly made my heart spill over with joy and love and definitely without a doubt overwhelmed me.

We all live in the same world. In line with our sole mission to provide sound healthcare experiences to allow all to LIVE EVERY DAY, we further hope to empower the next generation of global leaders. With their hopes set high on the field of rehabilitation, these Springfield College PTs, OTs and rehab professionals of the future work tirelessly to combat health disparities abroad. SC’s founding values are enrichment of mind, body, and spirit;

AND SO ARE OURS.

Springfield College’s Physical Therapy Department started an effort to directly support 3 community based projects in Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, and Germany via student volunteerism. Our humble effort is to support one of these future leaders. Today take away the burden of travel & expense and allow them to focus solely on the good work that awaits. It is our anticipation in doing so, they will continue to fight health disparities, spread the word of global healthcare need as compassionate healthcare providers, powerful humanitarians, and unselfish community leaders.